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To Do: Check Out Clear

By Sam Grobart February 16, 2012 1:37 pmFebruary 16, 2012 1:37 pm

Like many people, I downloaded a new to-do list app that came out on Thursday, Clear ($1 on the App Store), and started messing around with it.(Others have done that too; it’s already No. 1 on Apple’s App Store)

A few initial thoughts: Clear’s interface is elegant and clever. The app avoids using any simulacra of physical controls — there are no “buttons,” no “switches” (well, except for a pop-up keyboard, but you kind of need that).

Managing the list is entirely gesture-based: You swipe to complete or clear tasks, pinch to move up a level, pull down to create new items and tap and hold to move tasks up and down the list.

And that list! It’s like looking at a wall of Benjamin Moore paint samples. Tasks are colored from what the paint store would call “Tomato Red” (highest priority) down to “Mardigras Gold” (lowest priority). Moving items up and down the list adjusts their color accordingly.

You can maintain several different lists (work, personal, family) with Clear. The simple act of pinching the whole screen can make one list collapse into its heading and display the other lists you have.

Using Clear’s interface is mildly revelatory. Remember that first time you encountered the “pull down to refresh” action on things like Facebook’s mobile app? This takes that experience to the next level. The graphics are crisp and move more smoothly than Cliff Huxtable in a smooth contest. There are a limited number of gestures and you pick them up in about 30 seconds.

A commitment to this button-free world means that Clear’s creators had to forgo some features that other to-do lists have, including Apple’s native Reminders app. There’s no way to set time or location-based alerts with Clear. Also, being a third-party app, Clear can’t take advantage of Siri to create tasks by voice.

“Scheduled reminders were definitely consciously one of the features we decided to do away with,” said Phillip Ryu, one of Clear’s creators. “Early on, mockups for the app had recurring tasks, scheduling, and also a navigation bar, add button, and so forth. But wiping the slate clean and saying no to a lot of features, at least for now, really enabled us to do some amazing things.”

So, no — Clear is not a mega-powerful personal organizer that will appeal to hardcore time-management addicts. But it is a mighty fine-looking app, and for people who want to maintain a simple list of things to do — or for those who are interested in the state of the art in interface design — it’s well worth checking out.

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